The Best Hotel in San Pedro Belize: Xanadu Island Resort

The tender bobbed in and out of the water as I stepped off of the hour long water-shuttle bringing us to the docks of San Pedro Belize.

Both locals and travelers alike had chosen to take the shuttle out…however, we weren’t expecting the waters to be as choppy as they were when we first arrived in San Pedro.

Thankful to be on dry land, and putting the queasiness of being sea-sick aside, we took the 5-minute shuttle ride to our pre-arranged accommodation through downtown San Pedro and made our way to the hotel that was arranged back in my home base of Denver, Colorado about 2 months prior to my visit.

As we dodged the mud puddles in the road and locals walking around the quaint streets, we arrived at Xanadu Island Resort where I was quickly greeted by some of the friendliest staff I’ve seen along with a much needed, and strong, glass of rum punch. Thus began a fantastic start to our stay…

Xanadu Island Resort Beachfront Views

Upon checking into the resort, the front desk agent guided me up to the room. As it turns out, the pictures posted on their site gave the place absolutely no justice. This marked the very first point of where I began to feel for the country’s motto: You better belieze in Belize!

The room was located on the second floor of a very unique, monolithic dome-shaped building. I learned the buildings were shaped this way to help deflect the high coastal winds that frequently visit coastal cities along the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane season.

Another cool tidbit is that this is the only resort in the world where the rooms/buildings are shaped this way – how cool!

Upon walking into the loft suite, I quickly realized the pictures provided on Xanadu Island Resort’s website gave the place little justice. Extremely spacious and cozy, we were provided with a fully stocked kitchen, beautiful living room, and roomy downstairs bath.

Upstairs was a private bed and a small overhang where you could look into the living space below, comfortably accommodated by two towel swans. A second bath was also located here that would prove to save me a trip of going downstairs for the midnight potty break.

Although the room was by far one of the nicest suites I’ve stayed in for quite some time, my favorite part of the room was definitely the balcony.

The spacious deck wrapped around the front of the entire suite and provided a scenic overlook of the pool, garden grounds, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Upon settling in for the next couple of days during our stay, I explored the resort grounds as well as San Pedro. My primary reason for visiting the island was to explore the Blue Hole as well as other areas along the Caribbean Reef. Unfortunately, the weather was not quite as cooperative so, this being this case, Xanadu offered a plethora of opportunities to keep busy on site.

First off, the heated pool was a total life-saver given the tropical storms bringing in chilly winds from the ocean. But if I didn’t feel like going for a dip in the pool, we had plenty of opportunities to explore the on-site wild bird sanctuary, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, bicycling along the beach or, for a very small fee, take a dip out in the ocean and explore the reefs.

All in all, despite my run in with the tropical storms, I immensely enjoyed my stay at the Xanadu Island Resort. I am actually making plans to visit them again in the near future and really look forward to seeing more of what San Pedro has to offer while enjoying worldly first-class hospitality!

Have you ever stayed at an eco-friendly resort before? Where did you go and what was your experience like?

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Ron Robbins has been traveling non-stop around the world since the founding day of his blog Active Planet Travels back in June of 2011. He has found most of his professional interests in being a travel blogger, television host, photographer & bizarre food enthusiast. Visit his site and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with his latest adventures around the world!